Vehicle wheel



July 29 1924. 1,503.046

D. R. HELSER VEHICLE WHEEL Filed Aug.4 31, 1923 HIM! lNVENTOR PatentedJuly 29, 1924.

naires stares DAVID R. I-IEIL'SER, OF OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON.

VEICLE WHEEL.

l Application filed August 31, 1923.y Serial No. 660,421.

T all whom t may' concern Be it known that I, DAVID R.`HnLsnR, a citizenofthe United States, and a resident Aof Olympia, Thurston County,Washington,

have invented certain new andusetul Improvements in Vehicle Wheels, ofwhich the following is a specification..

This invention relates to improvements in vehicle wheels vand hastor itsprincipal object to provide resilient wheels especiallyuse- :tultorautomobiles, trucks, tractors, etc.,

wherein resiliency is provided tor without impairing the rigidity ordurability oiffthek wheels. Y n

More specifically, the object of the inven tion is to provide a wheel otthe above character having a yieldable rim supported in a substantiallyrigid manner from the wheel hubby means of resilient spokes, which, dueto their form of construction, permit the desired resilience in the rimwhereby the usual jar and vibration incidental to travel over rough anduneven surfaces is reduced to a minimum. f

Another objectv ot the invention is to provide a wheel of the abovecharacter equipped with resilient spokes, each of which comprises innerand outer telescopically joined sections that are fixed respectively tothe wheel hub and to the rim and wherein relative movement of thesections is 'yieldably y :terms ot which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, whereine Figure 1 isa side view of a wheelconstructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, longitudinal section of one of the spokes,illustrating the manner in which it is mounted within the wheel hub andrim.`

Referring more in detail to the drawings, 1 designates, as aY whole,avehicle wheel constructed in accordance with the present invention,comprising a rim 2 whereon a tire Sisnmounted and a hub ring 4f that issecured by bolts 5 between the o-pposite side plates 6 of the hub. Thisring is provided at spaced intervals with `threaded sockets 7 'forreceiving the ends of the spokes 8 which embody the principal part otthis invention.

The rim ot the wheel, in this construction,

preferably would be ot metal and suiiiciently flexible that it wouldyield under pressure or. jar that follows-'the striking' ot' va bump,stone, or other obstruction in a roadway, but which would besuiiiciently strong to hold up under all ordinary use.

Anyy suitable' or desirable number of spokes could,L be used .in a wheeland each spoke in its preferred form would comprise a tubular innersection 9 that isthreaded at Y.'

its inner end into the ring l and an outer tubular section 10 v'that istelescopically eX- tended within the tube 9 and at its outer end extendsthrough an opening in the rim 2 and is fixed therein by means of nuts 11and 12 threaded thereon against the inner and outer faces ot the rim.

Threaded into the inner end of the spoke section 9, as at 19, andextended coi-axially within it is a plunger, or rod, 13, which eX- tendsslidingly within the tube 10. A coiled spring 14 is disposed within Vthe'tube 10 which bears at its ends against the outer end of the rod 13 andagainst a plug 15 that is threaded into the outer end of the tube. Acoiled spring 16 is likewise disposed within the tube 9 about the rod 13which bears against the inner end ofthe tube section 1() and the base ofthe tube 9.

In this construction the rods 13 are mounted upon heads 18 that areythreaded into the sockets and which seat against the inner ends ot thetubes 9. Lock nuts 20 arevthreaded onto the tubes 9-to seatv against thehub ring to retain the spokes at adjusted positions. Packing rings 22are threaded into the outer end of the tubes 9 which retain apackingmaterial Vas indicatedat 23 whereby leakage ot oil and air isprevented. i

With the wheel so constructed it is readily apparent that the resilientspokes willpermit resilience in the rim and that this will absorb thejolt and vibration incidental to rough roads. It is further apparentthat the construction provided will insure rigidity in the wheel withoutalect ing the resilience that is desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A vehicle wheel comprising a resilient tire supporting rim, a huhring having threaded sockets therein and a plurality of spokes each ofwhich comprises an inner tubular section that is threaded Within asocket of the huldring7 an outer tubular section that is fixed to therim and is telescopically slidable Within the inner Section, plungersfor` the spokes yhaving head portions 'threaded into the sockets andagainstwhich the spoke ends ahutfwith the rods extending Within-theinner Spoke section and slidahlef into the outer, a plug threadedthrough the outer end Lof the outer section, a` spring-'disposed Withinther outer section to hear against the plug and outer end ofthe plunger`and a spring mounted Within the inner sectionnhout the plungerandJhearing-Jat its end'against the'y inner end of the outer spokeAsection andagainst the basel end yof "the inner-y section.

2.1In a vehicle Wheel, a resilient rim, a

socleted :huh ring, anda pluralityof spokes each comprising an innertubular `section having an exterlorly threaded inner end portion formounting Within ahub ring socket, an outer ytubular sectiontelescopically-litted Within said inner section having an exteriorlythreaded outer end portion for mounting Within the Wheel rim, a plugclosing the outer end'of said outer tubular section; a `plungercontained concentrically Within the said inner tubular section andlitted slidably Within the outer tubular section; said plunger having anexteriorly threaded mounting head abutted against and continuing fromthe threaded inner end portion of the inner tubular section and adaptedfor mounting also Within the Wheel huh member and having a section justwithin said head that is threaded into the inner end of said innertubular section,' a coiled spring located Within the outertuhularsection and hearing against said' outerend closing plug and'outer end of the plungerj and a coiled spring Vdisposed about theplunger' Within the inner tubular section. A

Signed at Olympia, Vashington, this 3rd day of iugnst,` 1923.

' l DAVID R. HELSER

